pothole

Meaning

1. A shallow pit or other edged depression in a road's surface, especially when caused by erosion by weather or traffic.
2. A pit formed in the bed of a turbulent stream.
3. A vertical cave system, often found in limestone.
4. A pit resulting from unauthorized excavation by treasure-hunters or vandals.
5. A shallow hole dug for the purpose of prospecting for opal or gold.
6. (slang) A hyperlink with text displayed on a page that is different from the title of the page to which the text links; a piped link.

Synonyms

pit

chuckhole

pot-hole

hole

🕳️

cavity

rut

scoop

kettle hole

giant’s kettle

giant’s cauldron

pocket

pot

recession

evorsion hollow

colk

socket

aven

concave

moulin

cenote

glacier mill

churn hole

glacier pothole

glacial mill

glacier well

rotten spot

eddy mill

excavation

fossa

dimple

kettle

concavity

Etymology

Cognate with English: pit

Cognate with Scots: pott

Inherited from Middle English: *pothol

In summary

From dialectal pot (“pit, hollow, cavity”) + hole. The "cave" senses, attested since at least 1809 (as pot-hole), may be from Middle English pot, potte (“a deep hole for a mine, or from peat-digging”), of uncertain origin; perhaps related to English pit, pote, or pot. Compare Scots pott, patt (“a pit dug in the ground; coalpit”).